Best Buy will open its doors on Thanksgiving at 6 p.m., moving the start of the traditional Black Friday shopping binge even deeper into the holiday itself.
The Richfield-based consumer electronics giant joins a growing number of major retailers drawing in consumers to shop on Thanksgiving, just hours ahead of what is traditionally considered the biggest shopping day of the year.
In its announcement Friday, Best Buy said its Thanksgiving schedule was a response to building consumer demand. "Last year, millions of people made it clear that they wanted to shop on Thanksgiving evening," the company said.
But the 6 p.m. start marks a new threshold, ahead of the 8 p.m. openings that Macy's, Sears and others have planned. Meanwhile, the two largest U.S. retailers, Wal-Mart and Minneapolis-based Target, have yet to announce their Thanksgiving hours. They opened at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. respectively last year.
With its earlier Thanksgiving start, Best Buy is adapting after opening later than many other retailers did a year ago, said Brian Yarbrough, an analyst with Edward Jones.
"Last year, Best Buy opened at midnight on Black Friday, and [its] domestic same store sales were flat," Yarbrough said. "This year, they're going to be first rather than miss out on sales."
Best Buy and other retailers have been forced to open their doors on Thanksgiving by competitive pressure from online retailers, as well as other bricks and mortar stores that are pushing their "Black Friday" into the holiday itself. Analysts such as Yarbrough predict that within five years, Thanksgiving may be "just another shopping day."
So far, Toys 'R' Us, Macy's, J.C. Penney, Kohl's, Sears and some smaller chains have said they will be open on Thanksgiving evening. Kmart has staked out the earliest opening of the bunch, throwing open its doors at 6 a.m.
